Growth Spurt

Baby girl is hitting her three-month growth spurt. The last week or so she has been sleepy and irritable with odd eating habits. She is 13.5 weeks old and really seems like the stereotypical "baby" now, rather than a squidgy little newborn. Her ability to express herself is the most notable change at the moment. Before, it seemed like she had just a handful of modes -- content, crying, sleeping -- now she ranges from gleeful to amused to bored to really, really ticked off. She is constantly talking away. Initially we had to coax her to oooh or gooo, but now she has a great time just telling us how it is. We have a couple of good videos of this action, but we are still figuring out how to load everything on to the computer from the camera. I probably covered that in my last post, but, truly, her verbal abilities crack us up everyday. She is so serious about trying to convey her little thoughts and feelings. Both sets of grandparents will be visiting in October, and I think they will be surprised and charmed by their little granddaughter!

Bumbo Jumbo

This week baby girl met the Bumbo seat, a new discovery for our family. Last weekend I attended a baby shower where the guest of honor received this magical seat as a gift. I bought baby girl one as soon as I left the shower because it seemed like such a great idea. The seat helps infants strengthen their little core muscles and get used to sitting up. The Bumbo became part of the rotation this week, and baby girl really seems to enjoy it. She has to work a little bit to stay upright, so there is some "effort drool," which appears when she is doing core-strengthening exercises, like tummy time.

This week showed an increase in baby girl's verbal ability. She is quite the chatter-box! She now converses regularly using a variety of lip movements. Her little face is quite expressive, as if we just don't get the importance of all she is trying to convey. We can hardly stand it, she is so dang cute. Baby girl left her dad a nice message at work oooh-ing and goo-ing and oooow-ing and squealing. It is a super fun stage, and we are recording as many videos as we can of her exploits.

Early Walk

We took a little jaunt this morning in our cuddly jacket. The mornings are getting cooler, so it is best to bundle up!

Better late than never...

We were all a little late getting up this morning. Baby girl found it convenient to mix up her nighttime feedings for entertainment. We weren't quite ready for it! Husband had enjoyed an evening with friends, and I had been out exercising with girlfriends and jog strollers, so we were tired! But who can resist waking up to this cute face...even in the middle of the night.

Hurray for Fall

Today is the first day of fall. Some people are winter/summer people, craving the extreme heat and cold. They like to snow ski, and they like to water ski. I, on the other hand, am a spring/fall lover. (Probably because my sense of balance makes it difficult for me to enjoy these fun summer/winter pastimes.) I prefer the transitional seasons because they are so optimistic. Fall brings cooler weather, golden leaves, early sunsets, and the anticipation of holidays. Fall is cozy and perfect for curling up with a book and a mug of tea; waiting for those first snow flakes to signal winter has arrived. Fall whispers that winter is right around the corner in a way that winter will never tell us about spring. Spring makes an entrance on its own time, almost in spite of winter. Spring shouts for us to open our windows and air out the cobwebs. Shoots of greenery and wildflowers promise sunny days and warm weather ahead. We all need something to look forward to. I am looking forward to making hearty soups, carving pumpkins, smelling smoke in the air, and introducing my baby girl to one of my favorite seasons.

Baby girl sleeping while I type...

As if I needed another excuse...

...to avoid work. Being self-employed has its distinct advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is being able to cart your tiny baby around with you everywhere you go, including the office. Another is the ability to decide to just stay home on beautiful, cusp-of-autumn days where it sounds much more appealing to take that tiny baby for a walk outside. As if my little one (facebook, coffee dates, baby-weightloss-planning, myriad household chores, you name it) wasn't enough of a distraction from work, I am now starting this blog. (Mainly for my dad who just discovered high speed Internet and loves getting info about his much cherished granddaughter. ) So here begins our chronicle.